Living with the Prince of Peace in an Unpeaceful World

“What is your vision of God?  How you see Him is how you see yourself.  It determines how you view your life, your church, even the events that are going on in the Body of Christ.  If you fail to see Jesus as your Prince of Peace, that may be why you cannot find any rest.  Seeing Him as your personal Prince of Peace means you’re not allowed to worry anymore; peace and worry simply can’t coexist.  The way we live is profoundly shaped by our image of God.”  Graham Cooke

There is no doubt about it - the world is getting worse.  For many people, if not all, it can look quite scary.  Foreboding thoughts of danger and disaster can overcome and paralyze.  There is the strong temptation to worry and become anxious.  When we are faced with the H1N1 virus, economic crisis, an increase in crime, loss of jobs, and natural disasters, what is natural is the temptation to let these things overwhelm us.

But what is supernatural is to trust in our Prince of Peace to overcome every trial we face.

The devil tries to put fear into our hearts.  There was a professional thief named Blake Bart who struck fear in the hearts of people in the 1800’s when he terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line.  He was known to bring danger to the frontier all the way from San Francisco to New York.  Between 1875 and 1883 he robbed 29 different stagecoach crews.  He did it all without firing one shot.  Nobody ever saw him because he wore a hood over his face.  He never took anyone hostage, but Blake used fear to paralyze his victims.  His sinister presence would overwhelm the toughest people.  The devil is like Blake - He wants to put fear in our hearts - He wants to damage our image of God.

We are drawing closer to the Lord’s second coming.  You and I are living in the most fantastic hour of all history!  We must learn to access the blessing of these times and not merely stand paralyzed by the difficulties.  Learning to live in peace has been a challenge throughout the ages.  Since the beginning of recorded history the entire world has only been at peace less than eight percent of the time.  Of 3530 years of recorded history, only 286 of them had peace.  And over 8000 peace treaties were made and broken!

We must learn to trust in our Prince of Peace.  We must demonstrate through our daily lives what it means to live with the Prince of Peace, because this world is desperately looking for peace.  Not only is Jesus a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, and Everlasting Father, but he is the Prince of Peace!  His government will last forever.  Isaiah 9:6-7 says:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.”

We must discover the secret of living in His peace in an unpeaceful world.  God has always wanted us to learn this lesson.  He wants us to experience Him as our Prince of Peace.  He wants us to put our hand into His hand, living fully dependent on Him for everything.  Jesus is our peace every day.  We can learn to live, abide and dwell in His everlasting arms on a daily basis.

The way for us to overcome stress in an increasing stressful world is to increase our fellowship with God.

If we are moving into a new season in our lives (and many of us are), we must take the time to develop a deeper intimacy with the Lord.  We must learn to remain in God daily throughout the thick and thin of battle.  We’ve got to learn this lesson because breakthroughs will not come without a fight.  God is calling us to do the impossible in these end times.  We must see Him as our refuge every day - We must trust in His nature - He is our shield and our very great reward (Genesis 15:1) - He is our safe place.

The Bible is full of verses about God’s peace.  In John 14:27 Jesus promises to give us His peace, in John 16:33 we have peace because He has overcome the world, in 1 Corinthians 7:15 God calls us to live in peace, 1 Corinthians 14:33 says that He is not a God of disorder but of peace, Ephesians 2:14 says that He is our peace, Philippians 4:7 promises that His peace transcends all understanding, and in Colossians 3:15 we find that His peace should rule in our heart.  We see that peace is a fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22, and Matthew 6:25-34 exhorts us not to worry!  There is so much more but you can study it for yourself.

A man had a contest to produce a masterpiece of the perfect picture of peace.  Artists everywhere from far and wide entered it.  On the day of the contest the judges uncovered one peaceful scene after another while everyone clapped and cheered.

Finally there were only two pictures left to unveil.  The tension grew. The judge pulled the cover off of one and a hush fell over the crowd. A mirrored lake reflected green birches under an evening sky with a flock of sheep grazing undisturbed along the grassy shore.  This must be the winning picture!

The man with the vision for the contest uncovered the last painting himself.  The crowd gasped in surprise.  Could this be the picture of peace?

A ferocious waterfall with a penetrating spray cascaded down a cold, rocky precipice.  Stormy clouds threatened wind, rain, and lightning. The picture looked bitterly chilling filled with thundering noises.  A tiny tree clung to the rocks at the very edge of the falls.  On one of the branches reaching in front of the torrential waters was a little bird that had built a nest in the elbow of the branch.  Undisturbed by the stormy and threatening surroundings, she sat on her eggs.  With closed eyes and her wings covering the tiny baby birds, she rested in peace that transcended all the turmoil.

Perhaps this is the greatest picture of peace and a good example of how God wants us to live in our present world.  But what do we do when fear threatens to overwhelm us?  How can we be like this little mother bird?


When Fear Threatens to Overwhelm You

“Every day, in every circumstance, there is a gift from God present in our lives.  Often the more desperate the circumstances, the greater the gift being offered.  But we can easily miss it if we don’t look for it.”

God offers us the gift of His peace.  I know that personally I have experienced His power and supernatural provision the most when I am in impossible situations.  When life is without trials, it is too easy to maintain life under our own control.  We are not quite so dependent.  But when fear threatens to overwhelm us, we can see God in a new and deeper way as our Prince of Peace.  You can receive God’s gift of peace in your life by: 

• Cultivating intimacy with God - It’s your greatest weapon against the attacks of the enemy.

• Learning to be still - In stillness, God puts everything into perspective and helps you to see from His vantage point.  

• Reflecting on God’s nature - What does God want to be to you in your present circumstances?  Your peace?  Your protector?   Your strength?  He is unchanging, and He is all of those things for you.

• Taking negative thoughts captive - Find Scripture to reflect the nature of God for you.  Repent of believing the negative lies of the enemy.  When the spirit of fear attacks your life, learn to bind it in the name of Jesus. 

Realize that the Prince of Peace is traveling with you through life.  He is not passive, but He has power to break through every obstacle.  You have the authority to break any demonic powers through the power of the name of Jesus.  Don’t resign yourself to your situation but look for the power of God to break through for you.  He will answer your prayers if you don’t give up.  In your circumstances, Jesus asks you as he did the disciples, “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew16:15)  Who is God for you?  Declare His role in your life right now.  You are partnering with the Prince of Peace and King of Kings. 

Let’s always remember who we are in Christ. The devil will try to lure us out of our safe place in God’s arms, but we must learn to remain in Christ.  We must stay grounded in the love of Christ (Romans 8:31-39).  We can be confident in Him.

“Embrace God as your Prince of Peace; draw on His restful nature to sustain you.  As troubles rise in your heart, ask the Prince of Peace to sooth you.  He is your refuge, your strong tower.  If it helps, picture a strong tower, ruled by God.  Live in it.”

What is your vision of God today?  Is He your Prince of Peace even in the midst of the storm?  Is your intimacy with God your most intimating weapon against the enemy?

May God breathe His peace on us! See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcyfwiaQawE

“When God is cemented as the priority of our hearts, we see our relationship with Him deepen in ways that we never thought possible.  There is a place in the Holy Spirit set aside for every one of us where we can make the enemy tired, depressed, weary, confused and exasperated.  It’s a place where our relationship with God has a profound effect on the enemy and the people among which we live.  What we think about God can shatter the hold of darkness on our friends and family.  Our intimacy with God should be our most intimating weapon against the enemy.”  Graham Cooke

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise
    


  

Becoming God’s Voice for Breakthrough

“As God’s representative on the earth, He has given us the authority to speak for Him. When we speak under the leading of the Holy Spirit, we speak as His voice on the earth. During strategic times, the Lord will prompt us to pray prayers that will bring breakthrough.” Barbara Wentroble

When we look around us, we hear so many voices. There are so many voices we can listen to every day. There are many words we can speak every day, both good and positive or negative and evil. God’s voice can appear small to us when mixed with all the satanic and evil voices all around us. There are false voices in the media, in the school system, in talk show hosts, and even in the church. We must be able to discern truth from error and the true from the false every day. In the end times we must learn to drown out the other voices and know God’s voice and speak it. Today we will continue with the theme of declarative prayer because it is so critical in the end times.

We had a car but it wouldn’t start. Doesn’t that sound like a familiar situation to many of us? My husband checked the battery to make sure there was power there. Yes, there was plenty! He then checked the starter and replaced it with a new one but when he turned the key, no power was getting to the starter. He examined the cables. He discovered that the negative cable was not grounded to the frame. It reminds me of many of us. Just as the car had no power to start when the cable wasn’t attached right, we can have lots of good things in our Christian life but if we are not grounded in the Word of God and speaking it out, the power of God can’t flow freely through our lives.

The battery of our life needs the Word of God to empower us to be and do all that God intends.

As His representatives on earth, we must learn to be His voice and speak clearly with His authority. We have seen the power of declarative prayer. But do we really know how powerful God’s voice is? Do we realize that we can become God’s voice for breakthrough?

God’s Mouthpiece

We are the voice of the Lord on the earth as we positively declare his will through our prayers. God many times is waiting for something to be done on earth, but He needs someone to pray his will. We become God’s voice on the earth for breakthrough by praying His will as we listen and obey. He wants us to be His mouthpiece on the earth. We can accomplish great things as His mouthpiece. Heaven responds to our prayers - God listens and acts on our behalf - Good things happen in the spirit realm when we learn the secret of positive confession.

The atmosphere changes - We change - Our life changes.

Think of what Jeremiah accomplished after he became God’s mouthpiece! He was called to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant (Jeremiah 1:9-10). That’s a powerful calling. Through our prayers we can do the same. We need the Lord to touch our lips and put His Words in our mouth! So often we can have negative words flowing from our mouths rather than positive words that confess God’s truth. But God’s Spirit wants to flow through us as rivers of living water (John 7:38). We must believe this, and as the days darken, we must learn to be His voice and speak His truth!

If ever there was a need for being God’s voice on earth, it is now. God’s voice is powerful and accomplishes great things. Let’s look at some Scriptures to put into perspective how mighty our God is. Psalm 29:3-9 says:

“The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, "Glory!

One of the things that the voice of the Lord does in these verses is to break (shabar). This means “to burst, to break into pieces (like a wild bear); to destroy, to perish (such as kingdoms, a city, or a people); to cause to break forth, to open (the womb)”. The broken places need repairing. Nations are in turmoil, evil is rampant, people are discouraged and frightened. We can stand in the gap and bring healing to the earth as we are God’s voice of hope and life. We can help destroy the works of evil and rebuild, repair, and restore through our prayers. Kingdom people know how to pray in His Kingdom. We read in Isaiah 58:12:

“Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”

Positive Confession

When we pray with positive confession, we pray with expectancy and faith. It’s easy to be negative when you are going through a difficult time in your life. I know that I am tempted to complain during those times. It is so easy to talk about the problems. During testing times like this, we must especially watch our speech. As we go against our feelings and positively confess God’s truth and praise His name, our hearts change. Our mindset changes and confusion, discouragement, and anxiety flee.

But we first must trust God and His character. We must trust His Word and not our feelings. He will carry us through. Faith is expecting what I pray will happen. We do not just believe God can do something, but that he will do something. Positive confession is bold and confident in it’s praying. Once we know Gods heart, we boldly pray it and then we walk in faith that it will be so, even when the answer is not there yet and even when difficulties are all around us.

Positive confession is confidence in God and acting on that confidence. We must pray with confidence that God will answer our prayers according to His wisdom and goodness. We must trust that He knows what is best for us. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” It’s so easy for us to lean on our own understanding instead of boldly leaning on God and His Word. Faith acts on God’s Word, His truth. Look at the example of Abraham in Heb. 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” Abraham went by faith. His life was a positive confession of God’s promise.

In declarative prayer that positively confesses God’s truth, we expect God to answer us. We pray with assurance when we know we are asking in His will. When we have the assurance that a promise is from God’s Word for us, we can pray it confidently and claim it authoritatively. We don’t just believe but we say exactly what we believe.

• We hold firmly to the faith we profess - “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess” (Hebrews 4:14).

• We confess with confidence - “So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:6)

• We confess with our mouth - “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 10:10).

For our faith to be effective, we must positively confess it. It will never be mine, until I say so. We may have to pray many times. Elijah had to pray 7 times for rain. Jesus had to pray 3 times in the Garden of Gethsemane. We are encouraged to keep on asking and keep on seeking in Matthew 7:7. We have to keep on until we have the assurance from God and then we begin giving thanks.

What are you facing in your life today where you need to practice positive confession of God’s truth? Are you standing upon His promises and practicing declarative prayer? Are you leaning upon your own understanding or are you boldly leaning upon God’s Word? Are you God’s mouthpiece in a world that desperately needs to hear His voice?

Let’s pray with an attitude of expectant faith. Let’s pray that we will be God’s mouthpiece on earth today in our prayers and actions.

“When we are really praying in faith, our attitude will be one of expectancy rather than wish or desire. Faith means that we’ve moved beyond believing that God can do something to believing that He will do something when we ask.” Jonathon Graf

By Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise, www.intercessorsarise.org